Growth Hacks: Want better fan engagement... stop selling so hard!

Ok... being a marketer much more than a creator/influencer, I suffer from this... but LESS pitching can help you sell MORE! I know a lot of creators sell their own products (you should be!) sell affiliate products, or are selling in some way... to crush this in the long run, you need to focus on engagement MORE than just getting more followers.

Pitch less. Increase engagement. Sell more.

In most all cases, if a creator is suffering from reduced growth, low engagement is a lot bigger problem than just how many followers you have. Sure, you need a baseline of fans or your channel isn't taken serious by some, but the algos, and brands looking to hire, are watching for engagement... likes, shares, etc..

And yeah, it's SO frustrating... but sometimes this can be fixed by scaling back on selling!

Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube now reward interaction over vanity metrics. One reason, is it's so easy to buy fake followers. Even so, a post with 5% engagement skyrockets while one with 1% vanishes. A survey showed that 68% of influencers cite "algorithm changes" as their top pain, but IMO, that's an excuse... they just don't know any better.

It boils down to content that doesn't get any reaction... and too much hard selling... so here's some thoughts on how selling less, can really help engagement!

Over-posting sales pitches has been shown to drop engagement up to 40%. I know the gurus will tell us we always need to be pitching, and close every post with a CTA... (call to action) and while I agree you need to give direction in every post, it doesn't need to be a sales pitch or a "close".

That "direction" you give can be "come back Tuesday when I'm showing you a new trick I discovered", or "over the weekend pay attention to the headlines, I heard something special is coming". (or whatever) You MUST get in the habit of giving your fans direction... to "train them" in a sense to follow your lead. This way, when you ARE selling, they'll follow instructions. But that direction doesn't always need to be selling.

Here's a tip you may never have heard before that is giving direction without selling... find another creator in your same niche, plan to post about the SAME THING this week, and agree to plug each other in your videos. "Hey all, don't forget to watch my pal Simon Friend's stream! He just got a new parakeet!".

You're not losing fans by doing it... if someone loves parakeets, they're ALREADY watching other parakeet influencers already... you're helping your fanbase, and getting free exposure. Then maybe the following week, collab and interview each other.

It's EASY content! (and fun)

Back to the subject, lol... your followers follow for education, laughs, inspiration... not pitches. Too many pitches = low interaction = means less reach = fewer real fans, and zero momentum.

Consider a switch to a 80/20 rule: 80% value, 20% promo. Use hooks that ask for a response, like "Tag a friend who needs this" or "Comment YES if this is you." Data proves questions in captions lift comments 25%.

Gary Vee teaches "jab, jab, jab, right hook". So 3 posts/videos of pure then one that's selling something... it's something to think about!

Pitch less. Increase engagement. Sell more.

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